If you have some basic ballet or jazz skills, you probably want to know how to do a fouette turn. This is the kind that you see dancers do over and over and over and over and over -- how do they do it? Especially without getting dizzy and falling over! It's actually just three basic moves on repeat. That's all!

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Steps

Part 1 of 2: Practicing at the Barre

1

Start holding the barre in first or fifth position. If you don't have a barre, you can use the wall -- or even a banister! Just have something you can return to for balance.

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2

To prep for practice, go to passé en relevé. For the record, that means your right foot is brought to your left knee, right knee facing outward -- that's the passé part. Relevé is where you are up on your toes. We'll be working with your right being your working leg, obviously.

In this position, hold the bar with your left hand. Keep your core tight, pulling up your ribcage and keeping your hips down. Your right arm should be in first position.

3

Plié and developé front. Your arm stays in first position and your hips stay down. Plié is to bend your left leg slightly at the knee, making sure to keep your knees over your toes. To developé to the front, point your right toe stretched out in front of you at a 90-degree angle.

4

Open your leg to the side, or à la seconde. Your arm opens to second position as well. You remain in plié, knees over your toes. Make sure to keep your hips down!

5

Bring everything in at once. Your arm goes back to first position, your leg resumes passé, and you go back to relevé. Remember: core tight and hips down at all times!

6

Once you have those three moves down, do a pirouette. Plié and developé to the front, go to second, and then do a pirouette, staying at the bar. This is your basic fouette turn, but with training wheels. Once you feel comfortable here, you can do some floor work!

Part 2 of 2: Mastering the Turn

1

Start prepping in fourth position. Your right foot takes a step back, your knees bend, your right arm goes out in front of you and your left arm straight out to your side. This position will provide you the wind up for your power to whip around -- fouette literally means "to whip."

2

Do a turn! Ball change and go! You're doing the exact same thing you were doing, only without the help of the barre. Go straight into developé from your prep, whipping around, bringing it back to passé, and opening it again. Your arms should match your legs -- when you're in passé, your arms are in first position -- when you're in developé, your arms are outstretched. The traditional way to go about it is two full pirouettes before resuming the fouette open-in, open-in pattern.

Keep your core tight, remember to spot, and go! It can be very frustrating at first, but it will come with time. Take a break when you start to feel yourself getting fed up and come back to it later.

3

Build your stamina, doing more and more at a time. Many dancers try to get up to as many 32 fouettes in a row. Since it's the same repeated movement, the main difficulty in it is stamina. If you can do one, you can do 32. It's just a matter of trial and error, so keep at it!

4

To land, lift your leg higher in passé and shoot it out behind you in fourth position. A big ol' fourth position. It needs to be far out behind you in order to keep your balance. That's it!

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